12.31.2010

It's not yet January, but the January issue of Skirt! magazine is now out in the world, and it has an article in it that I wrote. The article is called "Maybelle vs. the Memoir,"and I'll post a link to it here as soon as it's available. One fun thing about this article is that it's a personal response to research I've been doing. I hope I can do more of this in coming months and years: write an academic response (which I can't help but have) and also a more personal, informal version of my response to the materials.

In my author's note at the end, I give this blog address. So for those of you who are new to the blog and might be looking for posts about Maybelle (and my take on disabilities studies more broadly), here are some of my favorites, in reverse chronological order:

4 comments:

What a well-put thought, Alison - of course none of us get the children we think we're going to get. If we have inflexibly in mind a particular set of skills or personality traits we want our children to have, we have a pretty good chance of being disappointed - because each child is his/her own person. But then we get the opportunity to fall in love with that person! What a blessing...every time! I love you. And I like you!

I love this article and can relate to the concepts through my lens of being a first-time parent. With Hugh, I've had to work at not comparing him to kids who sleep or eat "better," talk more, are more mellow or patient. Being a first-time mom is like being handed a blank slate and the easiest way to fill that slate is to look at someone else's. The best approach, though, is just what you said - to embrace your child's Maybelle-ness or Hugh-ness, and help them reach them fullest capacity in the life that they create.

Alison, I enjoyed this article! Meg was on to something when she attempted to connect us a couple of weeks ago. After reading the article, I saw your blog in Kelly Love Johnson's blogroll, and then I saw your Center for Women profile. It seems you and I will be serving on the board together? I enjoyed reading your profile as well!

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Alison Piepmeier was a professor in the Women's and Gender Studies Program at the College of Charleston, and much, much more. When she wasn't working to bring down the patriarchy, she wrote here and elsewhere about feminist disability studies, Zines, her ugly car, and an eclectic range of topics. She also wrote about the brain tumor that eventually caused her death on August 12, 2016, at the age of 43.
Twitter: @alisonpiepmeier